January 17, 2012

Orange Juice Futures and Trading Places

"Pressure? Here it’s kill or be killed. Make no friends and take no prisoners. One minute you’re up half a million, the next — boom! — your kids don’t go to college and you’ve lost the Bentley!"

and

The upshot in the movie was the main characters, Winthorpe and Valentine, waiting until Wilson drove the price of orange juice way, way up. They then sold into the market, the Secretary of Agriculture announced the real crop report and the price plummeted. Our heroes cover their shorts and make millions, putting the Dukes into the poorhouse at the same time.

The volatility in orange juice market -

Examining the table, it is easy to discern that October, August, January and December experience greater than average volatility, but October is much higher than December. Those four months account for 17.17% of the volatility of the orange juice market.